Tag: ROADMAP

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‘Roadmap for 2030 will benefit UK, India’

In 2022, the volume of bilateral trade between India and the UK stood at £36 bn, supporting half a million jobs in both the countries…reports Asian Lite News

Trade minister Nigel Huddleston on Tuesday said the 2030 roadmap with India will bring immense benefits for both countries. Speaking at an event in Kolkata, the minister said it will deepen cooperation and bring both the countries even closer.

“The 2030 roadmap agreed by our Prime Ministers in May 2021 is a practical plan to transform the relationship between United Kingdom and India. It will bring immense benefits for both the countries. We have committed to doubling trade between the two great nations,” Huddleston said.

He said both UK and India have global interests and global reach. “We are science and technology superpowers. We worked together on the Covid vaccine which saved hundreds of lives in several countries,” Huddleston said.

In 2022, the volume of bilateral trade between India and the UK stood at £36 billion, supporting half a million jobs in both the countries.

The minister said of the great global challenges, none is more urgent than climate change. “We are proud to work with India and support initiatives such as the International Solar Alliance and the coalition for disaster-resilient infrastructure,” the minister said.

He also announced deepening of cooperation between the UK and West Bengal in electric mobility and sustainable construction sectors.

He said to address the barriers for faster adoption of electric vehicles, UK had worked with the West Bengal government to bridge the skill gaps in the ecosystem in the EV space.

“Together (UK and West Bengal) we will make the transition to zero emission vehicles faster, more affordable and accessible to all,” he added.

Meanwhile, both the UK and India are negotiating a free-trade agreement which has completed the tenth round of talks.

Huddleston, who arrived here on Monday on a two-day visit to the metropolis, also met former West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra.

“A pleasure to speak with @DrAmitMitra to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to bolstering economic growth in this vibrant state. Also committed participation in the Bengal Global Business Summit, to which we brought the largest international delegation last year,” he tweeted.

The UK minister also met Sanjiv Goenka, the chairman and MD of the RPG Sanjiv Goenka Group, and discussed business ties and opportunities.

“Really productive meeting with Sanjiv Goenka – Chairman and MD of @rpsggroup. We discussed UK-India trade and how a UK-India FTA could help address obstacles to trade, reduce tariffs, and open doors for businesses – creating jobs and opportunities for economic growth,” the minister tweeted. India is its 12th largest trading partner accounting for 2.1 per cent of its total trade.

The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said Huddleston is on a three-day visit to South Asia, which covers Kolkata and Dhaka in Bangladesh, focused on unlocking more opportunities for British companies to grow trade and two-way business flows.

Earlier, Huddleston visited Jorasanko Thakurbari in Kolkata and paid floral tributes to Rabindranath Tagore and said that it’s been a “real honour” to be here and to get acquitted with the volume of his poems.

After visiting Jorasanko Thakurbari, Huddleston, said, “It was really amazing visit, actually. It’s a beautiful building, and I think it’s really important that we preserve these historic buildings. But of course, Tagore’s memory is worth celebrating. I mean, I knew something about what he did but had no idea about the volume of art, the volume of poems, and all the visits, international visits at a time when actually it was quite difficult to travel internationally.” “So it’s been a real honour to be here and have a little bit of culture amongst all the business and trade talk, but it’s fantastic. And I say it’s a beautiful building as well, and the team do such a great job. So it’s been a real honour to visit,” he added.

In another tweet, he added, “A free trade agreement between the UK & India holds incredible opportunities for businesses. Delighted to meet Sanjiv Puri, the Chairman of @ITCCorpCom (one of the largest private sector companies in India) and discuss the huge benefits an FTA can bring to both nations.”

Before arriving in Kolkata, Huddleston, in a press release said, “The UK has a strong and enduring relationship with India and Bangladesh. Our trade with both has grown significantly over the past year, which shows our partnerships are reaching new heights.”

“I want to use my first official visit here to show the UK’s eagerness to work with both countries on shared challenges like climate change, using our collective expertise to deepen our trading relationship, spark economic growth, and create jobs,” he added.

Transport is India’s third biggest source of emissions, with road transport accounting for 90 per cent of transport emissions. India has set strong targets to boost electric vehicles (EVs) and the UK is well-placed to support this ambition by providing knowledge exchange, and access to finance and technology.

The Minister will announce a new project that will see the UK and Government of West Bengal join forces on a pilot to develop electric two-wheelers, such as motorcycles or scooters.

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Imran Khan presents roadmap to resolve economic crisis

Islamabad, Mar 15 (ANI): (File Picture) Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan gave an interview with Al Jazeera amid the showdown between PTI supporters and the police over his likely arrest in the Toshakhana case. (ANI Photo)

He proposed giving loans to young people to start businesses and reviving the mortgage scheme, which the PTI government introduced for the first time in Pakistan’s history…reports Asian Lite News

Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreeek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Saturday presented his party’s roadmap to revamp governance and increase exports thus paving the way for country’s economic prosperity, Pakistan based The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Khan was addressing a public rally at Lahore’s Minar-e-Pakistan despite a threat alert issued by the interim Punjab government. Khan said that the country needs difficult decisions to be made to revamp governance and increase exports.

Khan during his speech pointed out that Pakistan doesn’t collect sufficient taxes, resulting in an outflow of dollars that exceeds the inflow. He said that if exports increase, the inflow of dollars would also increase. He also urged the need for a complete revamp of governance to achieve economic prosperity.

The PTI chief said that a “surgery” was needed in Pakistan to put the house in order, and if that were done, overseas Pakistanis would bring their dollars to the country. He suggested incentivising overseas Pakistanis to invest and proposed VIP status for exporters.

According to The Express Tribune, Khan highlighted the IT and tourism sectors’ growth during his party’s tenure and emphasised increasing productivity in the agriculture sector. He also proposed restructuring all government corporations, including Pakistan International Airlines (PIA).

As per Khan, only 2.5 million Pakistanis out of 220 million people pay taxes. He talked about the need to increase the tax base to achieve progress, and PTI collected record taxes during its tenure. Khan also said that the PTI government introduced health cards, which the current government has stopped, but his party would revive the initiative.

He proposed giving loans to young people to start businesses and reviving the mortgage scheme, which the PTI government introduced for the first time in Pakistan’s history.

The former prime minister said the PTI’s focus is to target poor people and provide them with ration, a program that Sania Nishtar had introduced, according to The Express Tribune.

Earlier on Saturday, Khan urged his supporters not to back off “under any circumstance” and said that “reaction” to the “atrocities done to the PTI” would come from the public at the party’s Minar-e-Pakistan rally tonight amid a “threat alert” issued by the interim Punjab government, Pakistan based Dawn newspaper reported.

In the alert, the Punjab government said that terrorists carrying explosive material have reached Lahore and will either target political rallies or law enforcers deployed for the security of those events.

The government placed containers on the way leading to Minar-e-Pakistan, leading to hurdles for people seeking to partake in the jalsa.

The PTI chief claimed that when he came into power in 2018, he had inherited a fragile economy but had turned it around, only to see his work undone by the present setup.

Prior to the PTI rally, internet outage was reported in Lahore’s Gulberg, Minar-e-Pakistan, Data Darbar, Lari Adda and nearby areas.

PTI also shared footage through party’s Twitter handle showing party workers and supporters had packed the venue in anticipation of Imran, who reached Minar-e-Pakistan a little before midnight. (ANI)

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-Top News Afghanistan UK News

G7 Agrees On Roadmap For Dealing With Taliban

US President Joe Biden has rejected G7 leaders plea to delay the troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, while asking for contingency plans to adjust the timeline if necessary, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk

The leaders of Group of Seven nations have agreed on a roadmap for engagement with the Taliban, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed, adding that there would “probably” be a “Taliban government” in Kabul.

Johnson’s remarks came during the virtual G7 meeting to discuss the situation of Afghanistan, Sputnik reported citing press a press statement from PM Johnson.

“What we’ve done today at the G7, is we’ve got together the leading Western powers and agreed, not just a joint approach to dealing with the evacuation, but also a roadmap for the way in which we’re going to engage with the Taliban, as it will probably be a Taliban government in Kabul,” Johnson said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson chaired the G7 leaders’ meeting on Tuesday and urged the member countries to continue to stand by the Afghan people and step up support for refugees and increase humanitarian aid.

Johnson also reiterated that together with its partners and allies, UK will continue to use every humanitarian and diplomatic lever to safeguard human rights and protect the gains made over the last two decades.

The meeting of G7 leaders comes after Johnson chaired a meeting of the Civil Contingencies Committee (COBR) on Monday afternoon where ministers discussed the latest situation in Afghanistan.

As of the morning of Monday, the UK had secured the evacuation of almost 6,000 people out of Kabul since Operation Pitting began last week, which includes British Nationals and their dependants, embassy staff, and Afghan nationals under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) programme.

The UK has already doubled the amount of humanitarian aid to the region, committing up to Pound 286 million with immediate effect, and last week a new bespoke resettlement scheme was also announced.

This programme will be one of the most generous in British history and is set to relocate up to 20,000 vulnerable Afghans, said the release.

Biden to keep Aug 31 deadline

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday told G7 leaders that the United States aimed at completing Afghan evacuation by August 31, while asking for contingency plans to adjust the timeline if necessary.

Biden attended a virtual G7 summit over Afghanistan earlier in the day, during which “he confirmed we are currently on pace to finish by August 31st,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.

“He also made clear that with each day of operations on the ground, we have added risk to our troops with increasing threats from ISIS-K,” she said, referring to the local affiliate of the Islamic State.

“And that completion of the mission by August 31st depends on continued coordination with the Taliban, including continued access for evacuees to the airport.”

“In addition, the President has asked the Pentagon and the State Department for contingency plans to adjust the timeline should that become necessary,” she added.

The statement came as multiple U.S. news outlets reported that Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns held a secret meeting with Taliban senior leader Abdul Ghani Baradar on Monday in Kabul, which likely covered the August 31 deadline issue.

Earlier on Tuesday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid made it clear that the US should withdraw all troops and contractors from the country before the deadline and no extension for the ongoing evacuation process would be possible.

Canada to keep military in Afghanistan

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that Canada is to keep its military personnel in Afghanistan despite US President Joe Biden’s commitment for August 31 American military deadline in the country.

“Our commitment to Afghanistan doesn’t end when this current phase, this current deadline comes. We will continue to put pressure on the Taliban to allow people to leave the country,” Trudeau said.

“We’re going to continue to work every single day to get as many people out alongside our allies. The commitment by our fellow G7 nations is clear: we’re all going to work together to save as many people as possible,” Trudeau added.

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UK, India discuss implementation of ‘Roadmap 2030’

On Friday, Permanent Undersecretary, Philip R Barton had tweeted, “Today I welcomed @harshvshringla to London for talks on delivery of the UK/India #2030Roadmap…reports Asian Lite News.

Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla during his two-day visit to the UK met with Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Lord Tariq Ahmad and Permanent Under Secretary, Philip Barton and comprehensively reviewed the bilateral agenda and implementation of ‘Roadmap 2030’.

A tweet from the Indian High Commission in UK on Saturday informed about the ‘cordial meetings’ of FS Shringla with UK Minister Ahmad and Permanent Under Secretary Barton.

“Cordial meetings at FCDO of HE Foreign Secretary @HarshShringla with HE Minister of State Lord Tariq Ahmad & HE Permanent Under Secretary @PhilipRBarton: comprehensive review of India-UK agenda, co-op in multilateral fora & on global issues, implementation of RoadMap2030,” said the tweet.

Following his meeting with the Indian Foreign Secretary, UK Minister, Lord Tariq Ahmad had in a twitter post said that in the meeting, ways for continued growth of the UK-India relationship were discussed along with how the UK and India could provide leadership on global issues and be a force for good.

“Glad to meet @harshvshringla again today. We last met in Delhi – a pleasure to be able to host this time in London. We discussed the continued growth of the UK-India relationship and how, together, the UK and India can provide leadership on global issues and be a force for good,” the tweet had said.

On Friday, Permanent Undersecretary, Philip R Barton had tweeted, “Today I welcomed @harshvshringla to London for talks on delivery of the UK/India #2030Roadmap. The UK-India partnership is going from strength to strength as we work towards our shared ambitions.”

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited London on 23-24 July.

During the visit, he called on Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and held meetings with Deputy NSA, David Quarrey, CMG, Permanent Under Secretary Sir Philip Barton, representatives of leading Think Tanks of UK, and media representatives.

Earlier in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson had held a virtual summit and both adopted an ambitious ‘Roadmap 2030’ and elevated bilateral ties to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.’

https://twitter.com/PhilipRBarton/status/1418616817552171010The ‘Roadmap 2030’ paves the way for a deeper and stronger engagement over the next ten years in the key areas of people to people contacts, trade and economy, defence and security, climate action and health. (India News Network)

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Nothing conclusive on changing roadmap: Boris

As per government roadmap, the remaining curbs on social contact will end on 21 June, but there is a growing fear about the spread of new virus variant that could delay the reopening process, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that there is “nothing conclusive to say we need to deviate” from plans to end coronavirus restrictions next month.

As per government roadmap, the remaining curbs on social contact will be ended on 21 June, but there is increasing concern about the spread of virus variant first detected in India.

“We are looking very carefully at the data…what’s happening…the epidemiology…the extent to which the new variant may be more transmissible,” he said.

Meanwhile, another 2,412 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,450,392, according to official figures released Tuesday.

The country also reported another seven coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 127,691. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

Speaking at a vaccination centre at north London, Johnson stressed it underlined the need for people to get vaccinated, if they are eligible.

More than 36.8 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.

A total of 2,323 cases of the coronavirus variant first detected in India have been recorded in Britain, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Monday.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock holds a COVID-19 press conference alongside Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England and Dr Nikki Kanani, Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England in the Briefing Room in 9 Downing Street. Picture by Tim Hammond/ No 10 Downing Street

Hancock has said there is a “high degree of confidence” that the current Covid vaccines will be effective against the India-related variant, but the virus could “spread like wildfire” among those who have not had a jab.

From Monday, pubs, bars and restaurants in England were permitted to open indoors, while indoor entertainment resumed, including cinemas, museums and children’s play areas.

Millions in England were allowed to meet outdoors in groups of up to 30 people, and meet indoors in groups of up to six or as two households.

Meanwhile, all remaining accommodation including hotels, hostels and B&Bs can reopen from Monday.

People were also allowed to travel abroad to a number of green-list countries without having to quarantine upon return as the ban on foreign travel has also been lifted.

UK starts surge testing

The British government’s roadmap is expected to see all legal limits on social contact to be removed on June 21.

Experts have warned that despite progress in vaccine rollout, Britain is “still not out of the woods” amid concerns over new variants, particularly those first emerged in South Africa, Brazil and India, and the third wave of the pandemic on the European continent.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States as well as the European Union have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines. (inpts from ANI/Xinhua)

‘Don’t holiday in amber list countries’

Prime Minister Johnson also warned people should not be holidaying in amber list countries, after Environment Secretary George Eustice said people could go and visit friends, the BBC reported.

Eustice said people could go to those countries if they quarantined when they returned. However, it is now legal to travel to countries on the amber list.

Johnson said it is very important that people should be aware of what an amber list country is.

“It is not somewhere where you should be going on holiday, let me be very clear about that,” BBC quoted Johnson as saying. “And if people do go to an amber list country, they absolutely have to for some pressing family or urgent business reason, then please bear in mind that you will have to self-isolate, you’ll have to take tests and do your passenger locator form and all the rest of it.”

The warning came amid reports that thousands had headed for destinations such as France, Greece, Spain and the US, with more than 150 flights reported to have departed on Monday, it was reported.

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